Ask American Profile 12/14/2008

Billy Ocean, Ed Harris and Ella Raines

Q Whatever happened to singer Billy Ocean?
—Peggy Golden, Athens, Texas

Ocean, born Leslie Sebastian Charles in Trinidad in 1950, hit the top of the American charts in 1984 with the Grammy-winning “Caribbean Queen,” and again in 1988 with “Get Out of My Dreams, Get Into My Car.” He continues to tour, and this year returned to the studio for the first time in 15 years to work on a new album, Because I Love You, which is scheduled for release early in 2009. He lives in England with his wife of 27 years, Judy, and has three grown children.

Q I have always been a big fan of Ed Harris. Haven’t heard much about him lately. Is he working on any movies or other projects?
—Sandra Engle, Mount Jackson, Va.

Harris, 59, one of the most versatile actors of our time, continues to add intriguing movie roles to his resume. Most recently, he wrote, directed and starred in the big-screen Western Appaloosa, about a lawman hired to defend a town from a ruthless rancher. Last year, he starred in National Treasure: Book of Secrets and Gone Baby Gone, both of which are available on DVD. In 2006, he was nominated for Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe awards for his role in the HBO miniseries Empire Falls.

Q About 1950 I photographed a young lady named Ella Raines, whom I was told was a movie star. I hadn’t heard of her before, and I haven’t heard of her since. What can you tell me about her?
—Reid Rowland, Bountiful, Utah

Ella Raines was indeed a movie star. The striking Washington-born brunette made about two dozen films during the 1940s and ’50s, heating up the screen alongside John Wayne in Tall in the Saddle, George Raft in A Dangerous Profession and Randolph Scott in The Walking Hills. In 1954, she starred in her own network TV series, Janet Dean, Registered Nurse. She retired from show business in 1956, re-emerging two decades later to make a single guest appearance on the TV series Matt Houston. She died in 1988 at the age of 67 from throat cancer.

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